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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 99-1149 CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS ORI$1NAL ORDINANCE NO 99-1149 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY, THE SAME BEING APPENDIX A- ZONING, OF THE CITY'S CODE OF ORDINANCES, AS AMENDED, BY ADDING A NEW SECTION 10B AND PROVIDING FOR A STATE HIGHWAY 121 GATEWAY OVERLAY DISTRICT "GWY" ZONING CLASSIFICATION; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY UPON CONVICTION IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,000) AND A SEPARATE OFFENSE SHALL BE DEEMED COMMITTED EACH DAY DURING OR ON WHICH A VIOLATION OCCURS OR CONTINUES AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of The Colony is desirous of creating an identity and a 'sense of place' along the S.H. 121 corridor as a major gateway in the City; and WHEREAS, the City of The Colony recognizes the need to enhance the safety, aesthetics and visual character and to promote a high quality of development along the S.H. 121 corridor; and WHEREAS, the City Council approved Resolution #96-12 dated 1st July, 1996, adopting guidelines for the development of property along the S.H. 121 Corridor; and WHEREAS, in accordance with law, the Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on September 14,1999, and considered the Gateway Overlay District (GWY) zoning district classification, and made a recommendation to the City Council; and WHEREAS, after due deliberations and consideration of the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the evidence, information and other materials submitted and received at the public hearing and in connection therewith, the City Council of the City of The Colony finds that it is the public interest to amend the comprehensive zoning ordinance to provide for a S.H. 121 Gateway Overlay Zoning District and further finds that such district will promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the City; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS: Section I. Incorporation of premises. The above and foregoing premises are true and correct and are incorporated herein and made a part hereof for all purposes. Page 1 of 15 Section II. Amendment. That Appendix A- Zoning, of the City's Code of Ordinances is hereby amended by adding a new Section 10B, and providing for a GWY zoning district classification as follows: 10B-100 Purpose: The purpose of the GWY district is to enhance the aesthetic and visual character and to promote a high quality of physical development in the S.H. 121 corridor in the City of The Colony. The GWY district, shall function as an overlay zoning district. The requirements and development standards of the GWY district shall supersede the regulations of the underlying zoning district where such district's regulations conflict with this section. All regulations of the underlying zoning district shall be in effect except as identified in the GWY district. 10B-200 Permitted uses, prohibited uses and Specific Use Permits: All permitted and prohibited uses and Specific Use Permit (SUP) requirements in the GWY district shall be the same as those for the underlying districts accordance with the Section 10, Appendix A-Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances. 10B-300 Boundaries of the GWY District: The GWY District incorporates S.H. 121 Corridor which is defined as that area lying along S.H. 121 within the corporate limits of the City of The Colony and bounded on the north by centerline of Memorial Drive and on the south by the extension of the centerline of Headquarters Drive as shown on the approved City Thoroughfare Plan. A description of the boundaries and a map showing the GWY district is kept on file in the City Planning and Development Department. 10B-400 Definitions: Definition of terms contained in Section 25 of Appendix A, "Zoning" of the Code of Ordinances shall apply to this Section. 10B-500 Site Design: A. Corridor Identification 1. Developments located in the GVVY District are required to provide for a unifying identification feature, as well as to enhance the aesthetics of the district as a whole, on-site entry features should be incorporated in the site design. These features should include hard and soft scape items such as Page 2 of 15 additional landscaping, Iow walls, and enhanced paving materials such as colored, textured, or stamped concrete. 2. The inclusion of various water features within the site design, such as fountains, pools and ponds are encouraged. Preservation of the existing creek areas in a natural state is encouraged subject to engineering approval. B. Parking Areas 1. Parking areas are not permitted within any landscape buffer strip. 2. Parking areas are not permitted in front of the (primary) building except under the following circumstances: a. Required parking for buildings in which the primary use is retail, including restaurants. b. Required parking for office-showroom-distribution- warehouse buildings where each tenant space has its own direct entry. c. Limited visitor parking not to exceed fifty (50) percent of the total required parking when the office building is three stories or less in height, and twenty five (25) percent when an office building is four stories or more in height. d. Limited parking outlined in paragraph "c" may be increased by ten (10) percent for each additional ten (10) feet of landscape buffer strip that is provided beyond that which is required. C. Loading and Unloading Areas 1. Driveways, aisles, maneuvering areas, and truck berths must be designed to accommodate the largest vehicles that would normally be expected to use those particular driveways, aisles, maneuvering areas and truck berths. Page 3 of 15 2. To enhance safety, the site must be designed for counterclockwise circulation of large trucks. 3. All parking, loading and maneuvering of trucks must be conducted on-site, on private property. 4. To prevent conflict between loading and maneuvering activities and vehicle parking, required parking is not allowed within the truck dock apron space 10B-600 Building Design: The building materials and general architectural styles of the buildings in this corridor must be compatible and complimentary in color within the individual developments as well as within the corridor as a whole. This is not to require that all buildings use the same styles, colors, or materials, however, a central theme of the corridor must be evident to the casual observer. Each building must be designed to complement the general architectural character of this corridor by being responsive to the materials, color, scale, and purpose set forth for this subsection. In order to provide for visual simplicity and harmony with adjacent buildings the number of materials used on the exterior of each separate building must be kept to a creative minimum. A. Exterior Walls 1. Masonry materials must constitute a minimum of one hundred (100) percent of each exterior wall area excluding doors, windows or window walls. 2. Where rear facades are visible from adjoining properties and/or public right of way, they must be of a finished quality and consist of colors and materials that blend with the remainder of the building(s) facade. 3. Buildings that could, by the nature of their construction and use be considered as "big boxes", such as certain types of retail and warehouse buildings, must incorporate various Page 4 of 15 architectural features to provide for a visual relief to the front facade, such as canopies, columns, and/or color schemes. 4. Windows of highly reflective (outward facing mirrored) glass will not be allowed as an exterior building material on any building or structure. However, in order to encourage energy efficient building design, the use of tinted, inward facing mirrored glass is both allowed and encouraged. B. Parking Garages 1. Parking garages that front on public streets must have architecturally finished facades, complementary to the surrounding buildings. Street front openings in parking structures must not exceed fifty-five (55) percent of the facade area, this percentage excludes the top floor, if unroofed. 2. Where possible, the narrow facade of the parking garage must be oriented to the street to minimize its visual impact. 10B-700 Screening: Site features, such as loading and parking areas, outdoor storage areas, mechanical and rooftop equipment, refuse facilities and utility accessories must be screened from view of adjacent properties and public right-of-ways. A. General Requirement No fence, screen, wall or other visual barrier will be placed in such a manner as to obstruct the vision of motor vehicle drivers approaching any street intersection. At all intersections, clear vision must be maintained across the corner for a distance of twenty-five (25) feet back from a projected curb line corner along both intersecting streets. B. Outdoor Storage and Display Areas 1. Outside storage, when permitted: a. Will not be allowed in the front yard of any building. b. Will be screened from view of public streets and adjacent properties. Page 5 of 15 c. Will not exceed the height of the screening element provided. 2. The outdoor storage area must be screened by one or a combination of the following elements: a. Earthen berms and landscaping, including evergreen shrubs, used in combination to achieve a minimum screening height of eight (8) feet as measured from the top of adjacent street curbs, but in all cases berms must have a maximum side slope of 3:1. b. Masonry walls and landscaping, including evergreen shrubs or trees used in combination must have a height of at least eight (8) feet, as measured from the top of the adjacent street curbs. Walls must have a minimum height of four (4) feet, and will be finished in a matching or complimentary color to the color of the building, fagade, trim or roof surface. C. Loading Areas Truck loading berths and apron space will not be allowed on the street side of any building. 1. In those instances where three (3) or more sides of the building face dedicated streets, loading berths and apron space must be located at the rear or side of the building. This loading area must be screened from abutting streets as follows: a. By a combination of permanent architectural and landscape elements such as walls, berms, trees and shrubs so as to distract, soften or interrupt the view of the casual observer, these elements must be installed along approximately fifty (50) percent of the affected property line; b. Screening as described in subsection 10B-700, to the height of the top of the dock door but no greater than twelve (12) feet above the truck dock apron; and Page 6 of 15 c. When viewed at a perpendicular angle from the street the truck berths must be screened completely, except for driveway opening(s). 2. Truck loading berths and apron space will not be allowed within any landscape buffer strip. 3. No loading dock or service bay doors will be allowed on any portion of front wall facing S.H. 121 or on a side or rear wall within one hundred (100) feet of the S.H. 121 right-of-way, or within sixty (60) feet of any front property line, not adjacent to S.H. 121. D. Site Features Permitted incinerators, storage tanks, trash containers, heating, ventilation, air conditioning equipment and maintenance facilities, will either be housed in buildings or must be screened from view of public streets which abut such sites. E. Roof Top Mechanical Equipment All roof-mounted equipment including, but not limited to fans, vents, air conditioning units and cooling towers must be screened so as not to be visible to the immediate ground level of adjacent properties. When deemed appropriate by the architect, strong consideration must be given to utilizing the primary building facade to accomplish screening. In addition, roof- mounted equipment must be placed and finished in a manner which minimizes its visibility from nearby buildings and public right-of-way. 1. Overall screening height must be the height of the highest element of roof-mounted equipment. 2. The exposed side of the screening device, if independent of the building facade, must be finished in a matching color to the color of the building facade, trim, or roof surface, whichever color is more effective in minimizing the visibility of the equipment and screen from ground level. 3. When visible from the property lines and/or public right-of-ways, roof color must be architecturally compatible with building color. Page 7 of 15 4. To the greatest extent possible, roof-mounted equipment must be placed in a linear and/or grid configuration except for normal plumbing vents or flues. 5. Satellite Dishes, antennas and cellular equipment must be screened, as practical, from R.O.W. and adjacent properties. However, monopole facilities may be permitted within this corridor if these facilities are mounted on a structure or on an existing pole, such as a light standard. F. Utilities The primary goal of this sub-section is to minimize the visual impact of overhead utility wires and their poles within a site. 1. It is required, that to the extent practical, all utilities, including, but not limited to, electrical, gas, and telephone must be placed underground subject to the following provisions; a) At the time that a property is developed, all electrical service lines, on-site, must be placed underground. b) Feeder lines may either be placed underground, or along the rear property line, preferably along Memorial Drive. c) If not practical to place feeder lines underground, then metal poles (vs. wood) must be used and these poles must also be used for street light fixtures. d) This subsection shall not be construed as requiring the City of The Colony or the utility company to bear the increased cost of underground utility placement. 2. Utility meters and other utility apparatus, including but not limited to transformers, must be located to the rear of the structure unless adequately screened from view of public streets and adjoining properties. Adequately screened from view is defined as not only screening but also the utilization of landscaping and other site elements to distract, soften or interrupt the view of the casual observer toward the goal of balancing the negative aesthetic impact Page 8 of 15 of the appurtenance without interference with the safe operation and maintenance of the equipment being screened. 3. Wall-mounted equipment, including meters (such as banks of electric meters on the rear or side wall of multi-tenant buildings), must be screened from public streets by one of the following methods. All screening provided must meet clearances required by affected utility companies. a. Landscaping, including trees or evergreen shrubbery. b. Masonry walls in conjunction with landscaping. c. Wall-mounted screening devices such as cabinets or partitions which are architecturally compatible with the facade. 10B-800 Landscaping A. Street Trees/Landscape Buffer Areas The following provisions require landscape buffers be installed between all street rights-of-way and private property. It is not the intent of these regulations to require a uniform buffer width along the street frontages. These regulations are intended to encourage a variety of buffer widths, berming configurations and plant groupings along the street frontages. It is the intent of this subsection to require a wider buffer depth where parking is provided head-in and adjacent to the street right-of-way. Where there is no parking in front of the building or if a driveway separates the parking from the street right-of-way, the buffer width may be reduced to the minimum allowed. 1. A landscape buffer with a minimum width of twenty (20) feet and a minimum average width of thirty (30) feet should be provided adjacent to the right-of-way line of S.H. 121. This landscape buffer strip is exclusive of the street parkway. 2. A landscape buffer strip with a minimum width of ten (10) feet Page 9 of 15 and a minimum average width of twenty (20) feet should be provided adjacent to the right-of-way line of all other dedicated streets. This landscape buffer strip is exclusive of the street parkway. 3. Trees shall be installed at a rate of one (1) large street tree for every forty (40) feet of frontage in the landscape buffer strip. These trees must be either uniformly spaced or must be clustered depending on overall landscape design. In order to provide identity and character to this corridor, a minimum of fifty (50) percent of the street trees must be Live Oak Trees and a maximum of twenty-five (25) percent of the trees must be of another variety of Oak Trees, except for Pin Oak, the remaining twenty-five (25) percent of the trees must be selected from other trees on the Recommended Plant List included in subsection17A-1100 of this chapter. Trees shall be a minimum of three (3) inch caliper at time of planting. B. Site Landscaping 1. Minimum Percentage: A minimum percentage of each site must be landscaped, according to the following requirements. Landscaped areas, must include all outside plantable ground surface including buffers, parking lot landscaping, and other landscaped areas. It will not include areas inside buildings or any paved or hard surfaced areas such as walks, drives, parking areas, and hard surfaced recreation areas. All landscaped areas must be planted with trees, shrubs, lawn and/or other living ground cover. a. Industrial and Commercial Sites: A minimum of ten (10) percent of the platted area of each site must be landscaped. - b. Office Sites: A minimum of fifteen (15) percent of the platted area of each site must be landscaped. c. Retail Sites: A minimum often (10) percent of the platted area of each site must be landscaped. Page 10 of 15 C. Parking Lot Screening: The intent of this subsection is to obscure the view of parking areas from adjacent rights-of-way and adjacent properties. 1. A landscape feature including a combination of walls, berms, and evergreen shrubs must be used to screen the parking areas from the street right- of-way. The minimum screening height must be twenty- four (24) inches. The use of berming is required to be in combination with wall and/or shrubs along each street frontage. Screening devices must be intermixed, whereas, the berm must be discontinuous and/or in a serpentine design with evergreen shrubs and/or Iow walls interspersed. a. Evergreen shrubs must be a minimum of twenty-four (24) inches in height at the time of planting and if utilized as an integral part of the screening, (instead of ornamental) these shrubs must be placed triangularly no greater than forty-eight (48) inches on center. b. Berms must achieve an average height of twenty-four (24) inches, with a maximum slope of 3:1. c. Wall, when used in combination with berming must achieve a minimum height of three (3) feet. D. Irrigation All landscaped areas must have fully automated underground irrigation systems. E. Other Landscape 1. Large trees must be a minimum of three (3) inches in caliper at the time of planting. Small trees as listed in subsection A17A-1100 of this chapter must be planted a minimum of eight (8) feet in height. 2. All landscape areas must be protected by a monolithic curb. 3. Landscape areas must be no less than four (4) feet wide and minimum of thirty-two (32) square feet in area. 10B-900 Glare and illumination Regulations on Glare and Illumination are set forth to achieve a balance Page 11 of 15 between the need for safety, security and aesthetics of building and its site features and the potential negative effects that its illumination has on adjoining properties. While not mandatory and due to the changing technology within the lighting industry, certain types of lighting are suggested for certain applications, such as: Large Area Security Lighting: metal halide mercury vapor Small Area Security Lighting: metal halide mercury vapor fluorescent Walkways: incandescent fluorescent metal halide mercury vapor Accent Lighting: neon fibre optics incandescent fluorescent metal halide mercury vapor Exterior of Large Buildings: high pressure sodium Exterior of Small Buildings: high pressure sodium incandescent fluorescent metal halide mercury vapor The intent of this mixture is to eliminate the monotony of a single type of lighting while utilizing types that enhance the appearance of the surfaces and objects being illuminated. Page 12 of 15 A. Glare 1. Any use must be operated so as not to produce glare or direct illumination across the bounding property line from a visible source of illumination of such intensity as to create a nuisance or detract from the use or enjoyment of adjacent property. 2. All outside lights must be made up of a light source and reflector so selected that acting together the light beam is controlled and not directed across any bounding property line above a height of three (3) feet at a maximum intensity of 0.5 foot candles. B. Parking Lot and Loading Area Lighting 1. The mounting height of luminary fixtures must not exceed the following heights: Minimum Dimension Maximum Luminary of Parking Area Mounting Height 0 - 60 feet 14 feet 61 - 196 feet 20 feet 197 or greater feet 30 feet 2. Standards, poles and fixture housings must be of a single color, compatible with the architecture of the building. 3. All lighting fixtures must be restricted to down-light or cut-off types. 4. Low-pressure sodium lighting or lighting of similar color is prohibited C. Walkway Lighting 1. The mounting height of luminary fixtures must not exceed twelve (12) feet. 2. Pole and wall-mounted fixtures mounted above eight (8)feet must be of a down-light or cut-off type. D. Accent Lighting 1. Lighting may be used to highlight landscape elements, building entries other important architectural elements, and site elements such as Page 13 of 15 opaque signage, fountains and sculptures. 2. Lighting must be concealed or otherwise positioned in such a manner that the light source cannot be seen from any property line of the site on which the light is located. E. Security Lighting 1. Pole and wall-mounted fixtures mounted six (6) feet or more above surrounding grade must be of a down-light or cut-off type. 2. If a rear yard security light is mounted higher than ten (10) feet, it must be placed at the property line and directed away from adjacent properties. F. Low Voltage Lighting The use of residential quality Iow voltage systems is prohibited except in the strictest interpretation of accent lighting of selected site features and elements. Section III. Penalty. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this Ordinance, and any person violating or failing to comply with any provision hereof shall be fined, upon conviction, in an amount not more than two thousand dollars ($2000.00), and a separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. Section IV. Severability. The sections, paragraphs, sentences, phrases, clauses and words of this Ordinance are severable, and if any section, paragraph, sentence, phrase, clause or word in this Ordinance or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional by a Court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance, and the City Council hereby declares that it would have passed such remaining portions of this Ordinance despite such invalidity, which remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Page 14of15 Section V. Effective date. This Ordinance shall become effective from and after its adoption and publication as provided by law. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas this the 4t" day of October, 1999. William W. Manning, Mayor ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, CMC, AAE City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~orne~ Page 15 of 15